Homeland Security Does Not Understand British Slang [Cautionary Tales]

Here’s a good tip for foreign travelers hoping to visit the United States: no matter what the words “destroy America” might mean among your hometown folk, you may want to keep that phrase off your Twitter feed. Emily Bunting and Leigh Van Bryan, a pair of tourists from Great Britain, found this out the hard way after they were detained by Homeland Security for twelve hours at Los Angeles International Airport because Bryan had earlier tweeted “Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America.” Bryan tried in vain to explain that “destroy” is just a quirky Brit way of saying “going out and getting drunk,” but the humorless DHS agents presumably had not heard of partying, either. So they were deported. More »